The French press or coffee press has become a preferred way of brewing coffee among professional coffee tasters and the coffee drinking public in general. The coffee press is a relatively simple device comprising a pitcher (typically made of glass), a lid with a central hole, and a plunger fitted with a fine mesh screen or filter which is operated through the hole in the lid. In use, the ground coffee is placed in the pitcher and boiling water is added. The top is placed on the pitcher with the plunger withdrawn so that the filter is above the grounds and the water, allowing the coffee to brew. After about five minutes, the plunger is pushed down towards the bottom of the pitcher, so that the coffee grounds are separated from the liquid. While the coffee press has the ability to make superior coffee, it has several drawbacks. For one thing, conventional coffee presses allow the coffee to cool rapidly, thus losing the desired taste and temperature. For another thing, prior art coffee presses must be manually operated, requiring the full attention of the brewer during the brewing process.
Automatic drip brewing devices are also known for preparing coffee or tea by controlled delivery of heated water from a water reservoir through a porous filter holding coffee, tea, or another brewable material in a filter basket which drains into a separate receptacle, such as a carafe or pitcher which is not connected to the device. The brewed beverage is then poured from the pitcher. A warming element in a base on which the pitcher rests transfers some heat to the brewed beverage.
Automatic drip brewing devices are intended primarily for home use, and are dimensioned to produce and hold relatively small quantities of brewed beverage in the pitcher or carafe, e.g., a total of eight to ten cups produced in a single brewing cycle. The relatively small size of these pitchers and brewing devices does not normally provide sufficient space to allow for the pressing of the brewable material. In addition, automatic drip brewing devices rely upon the draining of liquid through the brewable material, e.g., coffee grounds, rather than a true steeping of the brewable material in the liquid prior to filtering and draining. Thus, prior art brewing devices provide a less than desirable means for preparing a brewed beverage.
As a consequence, there has been a long felt need for a brewed beverage press that is sized and shaped to allow for automatic press brewing of coffee or similar brewable beverages.